The present invention relates generally to an enhanced polymeric board used as a void board. More particularly, the present invention relates to a fabricated, topologically reinforced and static-reduced void board for use in forming bundles of uniform masonry materials such as bricks.
Bricks, or other masonry materials, are typically bundled as a plurality of stacked individual units (i.e., individual bricks) formed into a 3-dimensional bundle. The bundle includes one or more package straps, corner protectors, and a void board that is placed between two horizontal layers of bricks. Generally, the void board is placed above a layer of bricks that has bricks omitted, e.g., forming two apertures in the bundle. Additional layers of bricks are placed on top of the board. The apertures, which are typically centrally disposed, are configured to allow the prongs of a forklift or similar device to pass into the bundle. In moving the package of bricks, the forklift exerts a force on the underside of the board, to lift the entire package. Typically, the apertures are formed extending through the entire depth of the bundle.
One known void board is formed as a veneer. These veneer void boards are often of poor quality and have a tendency to warp. Warping results in uneven surfaces upon which layers of bricks are stacked, which in turn can result in package instability. Moreover, veneer void boards do not allow clean “separation” of the brick layers (in the depth direction) from the bundle, in that there is no easy way to separate the bricks and sever or cut the board at the juncture of that layer and the remainder of the brick bundle.
Other void boards use solid or ribbed plastic sheets. Such void boards are disclosed in Duke et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,989,184 and in Varma, et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/156,331, both commonly assigned with the present application and incorporated herein by reference. While void boards have been found to function well at a given thickness, they require a higher material weight (and thus, cost) than desired for such a consumable item. When a thinner sheet is used (and thus, less material), it has been found that the boards may not have the desired stiffness.
Accordingly, there is a need for a void board that is of consistent quality, reliability, and strength to allow stable stacking of bricks for bundle forming, without crushing the board. Desirably, such a void board is readily severed for separating layers of bricks and readily separable from other void boards. More desirably, such a void board endures environmental conditions without warping. Most desirably, such a void board is fabricated or manufactured such that a lesser weight of material is used to provide a sufficiently stiff board.